Sex and Sensuality
by Enigma of Bishieness
Summary: ZOMG! Sakura's NOT paired with Sasuke! Naruto's NOT paired with Sasuke or Hinata! In fact, NOBODY is going to just 'suddenly' fall in love with someone else without a good reason. Away, 'SasuSaku'ers! Away, yaoi fangirls!
1. Mmn hmm, we like our previews spicy

Disclaimer: There **may** be questionable content within. You've been warned. I still like cake.

----------------------------------------

"My goodness, you are one incredibly sexy thing." I gasped.

What stood before me was nothing short of pure perfection. Blonde hair pulled back into a stylish bun, her signature lock of golden hair casually hanging in front of her right eye, absolutely _magnificent_ midnight blue sleeveless dress with the faintest hints of embroidering that I could barely make out, and ending just inches above the knees, which, incidentally gave me quite a wonderful view of her smooth, toned legs. Yamanaka Ino is truly the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure of… well… _having_. Well, as far as two fifteen-year-olds can have each other, anyways…

"I suppose you like what you see, babe?" She smirked, and then turned her torso just the slightest to the left.

Oh my. Backless.

I sighed. "Babe, stop teasing me and _please_ get over here." I tried to stop myself from staring at any bits of exposed skin. There just seemed to be so _much_ of her showing, and yet absolutely nothing that she couldn't just walk out onto the street with.

She came at me slowly, her smooth legs flowing over my carpet. Deliberately taking her time, she could tell I was growing more and more impatient. It seemed like forever until she reached me. Lightly draping herself onto my lap, Ino placed one arm around my shoulders and caressed my cheek with the other. Her lips brushed against mine.

"Was that it?" I weakly joked.

"Oh, that was just the beginning, m'dear. When I'm done you'll be seeing stars." She boasted. She didn't seem to be in anything of a hurry, though.

I gazed into her eyes. Beautiful deep cerulean stared back at me. I've always told her that beyond all her other… attributes, her eyes were my favorite. Unlike others, Her eyes were perfectly clear, without a hint of cloudiness within them. They also seemed to have a slight soothing effect on me. Or perhaps I just have a secret fetish for blue-eyed blondes.

Not that she was any bit… diminished in the area of her other attributes. Her beautiful, smooth, creamy legs were the results of hours of intensive training. Her muscles maintained the perfect balance of strength and size. She was rather nicely shaped, not wiry, and not grotesquely muscular.

I placed my hand behind her head and led her cherry-red lips back onto mine. We sat there and tongued for a few minutes. God, how I needed this. The past few days were rather stressful, what with my training and part time job. A sannin's training alone is bad enough, but to have to pick yourself up afterwards and head off to work? I honestly don't know how I can last through the week.

Mmn. I taste mint and ramen. She always has this taste. Perhaps it's a genetic thing. Blue-eyed blondes and ramen somehow always find their way to each other. I'll test my theory on Temari when I have the chance. Right now Ino seems to be tilting my chair slightly… too… far…

Ouch. Okay, carpeted floors are still quite hard. I don't mind the pain all that much. We usually end up somewhere in the vicinity of this position anyhow. Granted, the falling over thing happens rarely, but still…

Her hair came apart, falling over my face. My fingers traced circles on her bare back as I kiss along her neck. I find that secret spot right where her jaw line ends and earlobe almost begins, and nibble at it gently. She loves that.

We continue at it for nearly half an hour. Her hands are beginning to wander. I always hold her back. I'm not quite ready to go the next step _just_ yet, and it's not like we're in a hurry. She always teases me about my reluctance, of course, but then again, she's been teasing me about everything since we were little.

"Still not ready to give in yet, Sakura-chan?" she grins, with a bit of satisfaction, as well as the faintest hint of relief. I wouldn't be at all surprised that she too is fairly uncertain if we should take the next step. However, I know she's fully willing to go through it if I am, if only to prove that she can and will take us that far. She never did like knowing I could handle something better than her.

"One day, Ino, I'll be ready. Until then, babe, you'll just have to find some other way to keep yourself amused." I murmured into her ear. She knows I'm telling the truth, that I will be ready to move on one of these days. The problem now is, will she?

----------------------------------------

**SEX AND SENSUALITY**

A "Three Years Later" Naruto fanfiction story

Based on the anime and manga created by Masashi Kishimoto

Written by Enigma of Bishieness.

This has been:

**SEX AND SENSUALITY: THE PREVIEW**

(Plot) Coming soon, to a fanfiction author(Bishie) near you.

----------------------------------------

A/N: You see, I've actually had the idea for this story the same day(actually, within the same five minute span) I got the idea for _Monologues_ into my head. Seeing as how I'm going to complete monologues before I even attempt to think about this, I thought it'd be fun to put this out here and see if people want to get hyped over _Sex and Sensuality_. Think of it as a fanfiction trailer. Oh, and this _will, _WILL, be a NaruSaku. Don't hurt yourselves too hard if you like InoSaku, I'll be dropping plenty of those moments into the earlier chapters, so you can just read those and then run ). (If you're good little reviewers and leave lots of constructive criticism, I might even write a few NaruInoSaku moments, for omakes.)


	2. Let t3h storeh begineth!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters that appear in the anime/manga series. I like cake.

----------------------------------------

**SEX AND SENSUALITY**

A "Three Years Later" Naruto fanfiction story

Based on the anime and manga created by Masashi Kishimoto

Written by Enigma of Bishieness.

**Chapter One: Let t3h storeh begineth!**

----------------------------------------

I'm Haruno Sakura, fifteen years old, Chuunin-level kunoichi, apprentice to the

Godaime Hokage, and one _hell_ of a tonsil hockey machine, if I do say so myself. Ino here doesn't seem to be offering a dissenting opinion either. Now, one might take to wondering: How _exactly_ did one Haruno Sakura end up locking lips with former arch-enemy Yamanaka Ino?

_Today is exactly a year after Sasuke left the village. Memories had been rushing back to me the entire week. The worst had come about today. I couldn't stop thinking about that day. _

**_He walked away from the village with a calm, resolute look. Left the home he grew up in, left his friends and left his responsibility. I tried to stop him, tried to do something, anything to change his mind. Tears fell from my face as I begged him to change his mind. Finally, I told him the one thing I always thought of as a last resort. Something that he couldn't just walk away from, could he? Told him that I loved him, that I'd devote my life to him. Told him that I would make him happy, as long as he stayed. Not necessarily even in Konoha, just with me._**

_**"You really are… annoying."**_

_It hurt so much, hearing that from him. It wasn't even that he didn't like me. It was that I barely even existed in his mind. I didn't matter. _

_I threw myself carelessly upon the same bench I had sat on a year ago. The night sky was perfectly clear, with not a cloud in sight. As I lay there gazing upon the stars, I wondered why I was all alone. I hated it. It reminds me too much of when I was much younger, made me feel like I was back with the teasing, the loneliness, and the pain. Nowadays, the only people I see regularly are Shizune and Tsunade-sama. And with one needing to tend to the hospital, and the other running the entire village, there's not exactly a whole lot of time I've been able to spend with either of them._

_The rest of the rookie teams all had their own things to do, their own lives to live. It's been quite hectic lately, with Tsunade-sama assigning as many missions as possible to everyone. The only people who regularly get a chance to see each other would be teammates. It wasn't fair. Where were mine? Where was my crush, whom I devoted so much to? Where was my other teammate, that loud, ostentatious blonde who, as strange as it was, was the only one that could bring such a sense of normalcy to me when he was around? As absurd as it is for Naruto of all people to be the one to make me feel normal, make me feel like life would go on, he just does. I think it's just an effect that he has on people._

_So where the hell is he? Tsunade-sama told me he was off training with the sannin, Jiraiya. But the two of them left just a week after Sasuke. He's been gone for nearly a year. Hasn't sent a word back to anyone back here in Konoha, either. Tsunade-sama occasionally receives a letter from her fellow sannin stating that training is going well, and Naruto's making big improvements, but nothing from Naruto himself. No "Hey, how's everyone back at home doing?", no "Miss you all, I'll be back soon.", and not a word at all to me. Wasn't he supposed to be infatuated with me?_

_My mind keeps pounding thought after thought into my head. Memories of Naruto, of Sasuke, of the old team seven. My mind was so occupied with these thoughts that I completely failed to notice a certain blonde had made her way over to the bench and sat down right next to where I was laying._

_"I-Ino? What are you doing here?"_

_She turned around and I got a good look at her. She wore a completely serious expression. _

_"You know, I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I just haven't worked up the nerve to say anything until now…" She began in a strained voice. I could almost guess exactly where this was going, but I tried to delude myself into thinking that perhaps Ino begins more than just one conversation this way. Then I saw what she was holding in her hand, however, and knew my first guess was right. That… that thing she's holding… I can't believe she still has it; she hasn't thrown it away yet…_

"…_but, well, today I finally feel like I can say it." Her eyes lit up, and she broke into a wide smile._

"_I want to be your friend. Let's be best friends." As those words left her lips, her voice became softer, and her eyes dimmed, and lost all of its energy from earlier._

"_You remember that, don't you? Those were the first words I'd ever spoken to you. That and I gave you this ribbon afterwards. You remember that, right? Right, Sakura?" I nodded numbly, not sure where this was going, but her grave digging of my old buried memories, added to the ones I was experiencing already, was really doing a number on me, and I knew that getting into a silly argument with Ino would only guarantee a colossal migraine the moment she leaves._

"_What happened to us, Sakura? We were supposed to be best friends! And we let what tear us apart? A traitor and our own petty crushes. Look at all the time we wasted hating each other. I just can't do it anymore." She didn't look any different, physically, but I could detect the weariness in her voice._

"_I want you back, Sakura. I want my best friend back. I want back the girl that I could talk with, laugh with. I don't care about anything else anymore. I want you back. It was the worst mistake I ever made, letting a crush over Sasuke break our friendship. I have no interest in him anymore. I couldn't, not after he betrayed us all. Our rivalry is over, isn't it? I just want another chance to be your friend."_

"_Please… please tell me that we can still be friends."_

And after that, I should have been happy, right? I got what I wanted, I was no longer alone. Ino and I were still a bit awkward around each other for the first few days, but we gradually slipped back into our old 'best friends' routines. We would spend as much time together as we had. Which translates to just about anytime she got back from a mission, since most of my work nowadays was hospital related, and rarely left the walls of Konoha.

It was on one of those days, one of those plain, ordinary days when the two of us took our friendship to a deeper level. I'd have liked to say that it was a well thought-out step that we both rationally talked about before taking that step. I'd have _liked _to say it.

_Just one of those Saturdays, one of those lazy Saturdays where the sun is bright, the clouds are fluffy, and I couldn't stand to stay cooped up in an empty hospital room and practice jutsus by myself. So I ditched training and went to find Ino._

_Eventually, I found her back in the Yamanaka garden, in the process of weeding. Obviously, it wasn't long at all before I was dragged into helping. I spent the rest of the day there, helping out. I didn't mind much. At least I had a chance to make up for lost time. _

_I glanced over at Ino and couldn't help but smile. She was covered in soil and sweat, whistling a tune as she worked, and barely looked like the pristine, completely professional kunoichi that I had gotten used to seeing. This was the old Ino, the one I had grown side-by-side with. The one that didn't mind association with dirt and soil, be it gardens, playgrounds, or little crying Haruno Sakuras._

_An unfamiliar set of feelings welled up inside me. I felt _right_. I felt like all was well in the world, that everything was back to the way it used to be, the way it should have been. It was Ino. It had to be Ino. Just getting her back as a friend could do this much for me. What if…oh… what if… we could take things further? Of all things possible, did I run in a huge circle just to finally realize that Ino was the one that could really make me happy?_

_I recoiled mentally. I was…like 'that', was I? Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to just 'realize' something like that… I thought if anything, it'd at least take an extremely traumatic experience to have an effect like that. But more traumatizing experiences have happened to me, and I certainly didn't feel any different afterwards._

_I tried to clear my mind a little, to think a bit more rationally. I suppose I wasn't particularly upset by the idea, it just caught me off guard. I reasoned that I could always break the idea to Ino, and see how she would take it. I've heard of other girls 'experimenting' at this age, this wouldn't be any different, right?_

_I continued debating internally whether it'd be a good idea at all to mention something like this so soon. After all, it was merely a hypothesis, wasn't it? I should probably go home and sleep on this and figure something out before I do something rash._

_As I looked over to see if Ino was finishing up, I caught a glance of her wiping some sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. I'm really not sure what exactly happened next, but… "Well, Sakura-chan, I think we're done here, you wanna go and grab some foo-"_

_I don't know why, but for some reason, as she was wiping her brow, I just _wanted_ her. I've never felt this kind of feeling before, but I was extremely attracted to her, in the physical sense. Before her sentence was finished, I'd cut her off with my lips, as I looped one arm around her waist and pulled her in. Linking the fingers of my free hand with her corresponding digits effectively prevented her from pushing me with that arm._

_I could tell something was wrong. She wasn't responding. Ino made no attempts either to respond likewise with her own kisses or to try to push me away. I slowly relaxed my grip on her. I pulled away from her to try to get a better look. She wasn't happy, or angry._

_She was upset. Whatever was left of my adrenalin high from before evaporated real fast. I've _never_ seen Ino just plain upset before. She would cover it with yelling, or pretend whatever happened didn't hurt her. This was new. Suddenly, all the euphoria I'd experienced with Ino for the last few weeks vanished. Gone, were the mannerisms I had reserved for my best friend. Indeed, I felt like I had just grabbed and kissed Ino, when she was still my rival. I reacted accordingly._

_I was quite busy yelling at myself hysterically. What the heck have I done? Didn't I just get through telling myself to not do anything rash? Where did the calm, logical Sakura go and why did I impulsively react like that? And speaking of reactions, Ino's certainly won't be good, judging by the look on her face._

_It took a whole minute more for Ino to form any sort of comprehensive response. "Sakura, I think I need some time to myself."_

_"But, Ino-chan…" I tried._

_"Please, Sakura. I…I don't know what to…please go."_

It was a little over a week before Ino finally gave me her response. I had been worrying the entire time about how her reaction would turn out. Would she refuse to ever speak to me again? Would she revert back to the days of our rivalry? I wasn't sure what I would do if I lost Ino's friendship again.

_She found me shortly after my hospital shift, as I was heading home. Autumn was over and from the looks of her shivers I could tell she had been waiting for me to pass by for a while now. _

_She dragged me into a corner and pulled me into the tightest hug I ever remembered her giving me, and whispered into my ear._

_"Sakura… I've been thinking a lot for the past couple of days, and… well… I guess what with the way things were, and all, I kind of expected us to be best friends, and keep it that way… But then I considered this possibility, and well, we've always been fighting, and then we had that rivalry, and… oh, this isn't coming out at all the way I rehearsed it at home…"_

_"Sakura, I want to give it- give _us_ a try. Sorry for reacting that way last time… but you did catch me off guard…" Her voice drifted off as she loosened her grip on me slightly. I felt slightly lightheaded, and barely took a breath, before she caught me in the tenderest kiss I could ever imagine._

_Words fail me. The Sasuke-kun of my imaginations certainly didn't kiss like this. Fantasies certainly didn't feel so real, didn't affect me so much. I wondered momentarily if Ino became slightly empathic from years worth of mind-jutsu usage. I honestly wasn't surprised if she was, this was everything I had ever imagined, and more. Granted, my imaginations usually didn't contain another girl, but I'm certainly not complaining right now._

_We broke apart, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, I began to notice my surroundings again. Almost as if time had stopped for us while we were occupied, and we didn't even notice. _

_She grinned. I must have followed suit, I could have sworn I felt the corners of my lips curl upwards slightly. It was as if something fell into place. I felt like I was one step closer to solving the puzzle that is life, like I had found the solution to this particular problem, that I was on the right track. I knew that I did not make a mistake in trusting my emotions to Ino._

Since that day, I've been, well, happy. I guess that, all along, I just needed someone to care for me. Someone to like me; to know as well as I did how hard it was to want somebody. My unrequited love for Uchiha Sasuke did wonders for my appreciation of Ino, who would finally return something I had wanted for so long.

For the first time in a while, I could honestly say life is good.

---------------------------------------

A/N: Okay, I know I said that I'd finish the first set of monologues before working on Sex and Sensuality. Looks like I was wrong. Seems like during my planning process, I conveniently forgot that I had no idea how to write a convincing Kankuro that I _don't_ need to stop every fifty seconds to ponder 'what the hell did I just write?'

Anyhow, Kankuro's on hold, and I'm not even going to bother thinking of Shino's thing, because it'll give me headaches. For Tenten, I still need to consider the surname question, and Naruto's coming out last, because it's Naruto.

Argh, I just wasted two paragraphs on monologues stuff… Okay, I was wrong about another thing. I'm really big on not making Hinata a replacement girlfriend for Naruto, and I rant about it a lot. (Seek Bishie's profile for more ranting) Needless to say, I conveniently overlooked similarities of Naruto coming off as a replacement boyfriend for Sakura. I'd brush it off as the two of them being different situations, but I already thought up a plotline to match, so I'm not going to change it. What I'm trying to say, however, is that Sakura _will_ be having a SasuSaku moment. I wouldn't be able to wholly justify NaruSaku without it; that's just the way I feel. No worries, I'll keep it short, and hopefully everything will work itself out.

Oh, and by the way, I'd hate for people to kill me over this, but I estimate that at the earliest, NaruSaku get together at around chapter 23-24. Hey, wait, where're ya'll going? Get back here!

Shoutouts to Nekopaw for the humorous Orioke no jutsu comment (I found it funny, however wrong it might've been), all the guys that came and dropped a review, and all those readers out there that'll keep reading this fic simply because they like it.

Ergh. And that third paragraph waaaay back up there _is_ indeed a flashback within a flashback. Think of it as homage to FF Tactics, or something. Or think that Bishie completely sucks as a writer, that works too. )

Tune in next time for more of Bishie's crap. Story. Yeah, story.

----------------------------------------

Omake!

"Sorry, kiddo, but that's just a lesson you'll have to learn sooner or later. _Never_ skip out on duties in Tsunade-sama's hospital, even if you _were_ only supposed to be practicing jutsus. She knows _everything _that happens in there, all the time." Shizune gave me a consoling smile, but I couldn't help but suspect she was secretly chuckling. After all, being punished with three weeks worth of hospital bedpan duties _was_ quite funny, if it wasn't happening to me.

"Oh, and did you find out the same way, Shizune-san?" I asked, curiously. Hospital gossip always turned out more amusing than one would normally expect.

"Well, actually…" Shizune reminisced "Funny story, really, but when I was training under Tsunade-sama, the only places we really stayed at were gambling districts, and she was more interested in sneaking off than I was…"

"!"

"Erm… actually, perhaps that's not the best thing to tell you… Sakura-chan? Hey, Sakura, wait! No! That's inappropriate blackmail material! Did you hear me, Sakura? …Oh, I'm really in for it this time…"

----------------------------------------

This chapter was finished on: December 9, 2005


	3. Whoa, a reunion!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters that appear in the anime/manga series. I like cake.

----------------------------------------

"That Naruto kid… it seems he's returned to Konoha."

"Really? Wow… It's been over two years…"

"…"

"…"

"Sakura-chan… you could sit there and keep shuffling that paperwork you weren't assigned to do, or you could stop pretending it's not a big deal and just go see your old teammate…"

"…busted."

"He and Jiraiya just entered Konoha through the north gate a minute ago. I'm sure if we stood between there and that Ichiraku place he likes, we won't miss each other. Let's go."

----------------------------------------

**SEX AND SENSUALITY**

A "Three Years Later" Naruto fanfiction story

Based on the anime and manga created by Masashi Kishimoto

Written by Enigma of Bishieness.

**Chapter Two: Whoa, a reunion! **

----------------------------------------

"So you're telling me _everyone_ from our old class was promoted? I'm dead-last _again?_"

Recent studies have shown that the average noise level of downtown Konoha decreases considerably whenever Uzumaki Naruto leaves the village. Nobody knows why. One, however, does tend to suspect certain reasons as soon as he arrives back. The Ichiraku, curiously enough, also happened to be the usual source of all this noise. Once again, the reason for this remains completely unknown.

"I told you, ero-sennin, I _told_ you! I _knew_ we should have stopped for that Chuunin exam over at the hidden Grass last year, but of course, you chose the perfect time to drag me halfway across the continent, to Rain country. Told me you were going there for a highly important meeting… funny thing, when I had to drag my drunken sensei out of a brothel! What kind of crappy teacher puts a bunch of prostitutes over his student's Chuunin promotion, anyways?"

Naruto turned, shouting at his unfortunate sensei. Unfortunate, because Jiraiya was carefully trying to remain discreet this entire time. Probably had something to do with the fact that he had carefully positioned his telescope perfectly, aiming between two stools and two pairs of legs, and centering directly upon a certain Hokage's robes, right where the cloth slipped a bit and happened to reveal a very enticing area of skin, for the delighted pervert.

"Oh, hush, boy. They were triplets, you wouldn't understand." Jiraiya hastily packed away the evidence of his guilt, although the new crimson color his cheeks were sporting undermined his attempts rather well. "Besides, what sort of lousy student yells at his teacher?"

Tsunade had, as all well trained ninja do, noticed Jiraiya's telescope, as well as it's target, very soon after it's emergence onto the table. Of course, it would have taken far too much shouting to break his perverted concentration before, but now that the other sannin had been momentarily distracted from his activities, she would be able to throw out a few choice threats, without expending unnecessary effort.

Jiraiya turned back to his bowl of ramen, which was still mostly full, due to the lack of attention it had been paid so far. As he started digging in, Jiraiya could feel a curious pressure on the side of his head, as if someone were trying to bore holes there.

His face still red from the telescope incident, Jiraiya chanced a glance out from the corner of his eyes, turning his head just the slightest to get a better angle.

He saw the Hokage sitting idly, as if in deep thought, and chewing on the ends of her chopsticks. Without so much as moving her head, she ostentatiously lifted her left hand, and swiftly drew her thumb across her own neck, mentally decapitating Jiraiya. He turned white, and decided sleeping outside the Konoha walls would be an excellent idea tonight.

Uncommonly known fact: Turning white while one was already red is a notably bad idea. The result… rosy pink!

Jiraiya turned back to his bowl, again, attempting to retain his remaining dignity throughout the rest of this meal. Which was made rather difficult by Naruto's repeated mutterings of "stupid sannin" and the like. The ranting soon died down, and Naruto attempted to start another conversation.

"So, Sakura-chan, who'd you take the Chuunin exams with?"

-----

Shadows danced over the stone walls, the fire from the apparently lone torch barely illuminating the stone, and distinguishing floor from stairwell. The staircase led down, into the abyss. A light pair of thumps was the only sign of someone ascending the steps.

"Kisame, you act as if you thought I was trained in medical jutsu."

A dark-haired figure was the first to reach the top of the steps, followed shortly by s much taller, more intimidating figure. The two were cloaked within a silky material. A dark, lifeless shade of blue was rather ruined by the blood red clouds embroidered onto the cloaks. Akatsuki. Hoshigaki Kisame. Uchiha Itachi. The two missing-nin's presence undoubtedly meant some blood was shed, somewhere.

"So we're just leaving him there, then? That's a rather… _hateful _thing to do to an old acquaintance of yours…"

The shedding of blood always had a bit of an effect upon Itachi. His unusual patience with people in general, and his partner in particular, was usually limitless, with one exception. Killing a man leaves him curt and the ever tiniest bit more snappish to those that annoy him.

"You've _seen_ him. He is useless, broken. We're leaving this place. Konoha will most likely be here shortly, we'll leave them to dispose of the bodies."

Uchiha Itachi nodded, and then looked skywards. That was a sure sign that the discussion was over. Kisame followed suit, also glancing up. The two Akatsuki-nin looked at each other, then skywards once again, before nodding imperceptibly at each other. In one trained, fluid motion, the two shinobi reached behind themselves, and in perfect synchronization… put on their straw hats.

"Sunny day."

"Indeed."

-----

"Chouji and Ino? _Yamanaka_ Ino? I thought you didn't like her…"

Sakura was hard pressed to find a decent answer. She hadn't allowed _anyone_ to find out about the new relationship between herself and Ino, but if she let slip too many clues, people were bound to start putting the pieces together. Something about living in a ninja village with people that are supposed to be rather observant. Or so she heard.

"Well… with Shikamaru promoted to Chuunin and my team leaving, Asuma-sensei and Kakashi-sensei figured the numbers added up properly, and so that's why we took the exam together."

_Whew_. _Barely dodged that one._ Sakura had barely breathed a sigh of relief at giving a perfectly logical explanation, before Naruto demonstrated that, once again, he has the knack to say exactly the wrong things at the wrong times.

"So… Sakura-chan and Ino must have had really good teamwork… you know, because you both were promoted…"

Sakura was being backed into a corner. She didn't exactly like where this conversation was going, and told herself Naruto really deserved a good backhand for being unable to control his mouth. Of course, it's not _his_ fault, and she knew it. Besides, she wasn't about to injure someone in front of her master, who just so happened to be the Hokage, and also had a fondness for the target in question.

No… it wasn't that. She was nearing sixteen years old now, and that's about three years too late to be blaming and shifting all the pressure onto Naruto, just because it was convenient for her. She _had_ matured over the years, she tried to convince herself. It wasn't Naruto's fault for trying to start a conversation with his old teammate. It wasn't his fault he didn't know that this subject was strictly _off limits_, in her mind.

But that didn't mean Sakura just had to sit there and get unknowingly interrogated. So she thought. And planned, and plotted. And thought some more. And she hit upon a plan. A plot so ingenious, so simple, so _perfect_, that she knew it wouldn't fail.

It was a victory for Haruno Sakuras everywhere.

And it would forever be noted in history, as the _Cherry Blossom Diversion Gambit._

-----

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!"

A frantic Shizune burst into the Hokage's office, the door ricocheting off the wall and slamming shut right after she pushed through. She scanned the room briefly, before spotting a golden mop of hair splattered over the Hokage's desk. Shizune grabbed the robes by the shoulders and tried to shake the Hokage awake.

"Tsunade-sama! This is important! There's been a sighting, we have to…"

As the pillow tumbled out from under Tsunade's robes, Shizune stared blankly before yelling in frustration, one hand gripping the robes, the other hand throwing the blonde wig across the room.

"_Tsunade-sama!_"

A hastily scribbled note fluttered to the ground, the words 'out to lunch' undoubtedly in the Hokage's barely-legible scrawl.

-----

Uzumaki Naruto was in shock. He had no idea what just happened, but _wow… _

_Sakura was staring off into the depths of her noodles. She answered his prompting with merely a shrug. He thought perhaps she wanted to tend to her ramen for a bit, before continuing their conversation. He could understand, but personally, he'd eat and talk at the same time. He never understood why some people didn't like to multitask while eating. _

_She yawned. It was distinctly catlike, the way she scrunched her face and extended her arms straight in front of her, stretching a bit. Naruto could see her legs were straightening, as well, Sakura on the edge of her seat, her legs forming a perfect right triangle with the stool and the floor. He caught more than just a slight glimpse of skin. A pair of beautiful, smooth, creamy limbs, with just the right balance of tan and thickness, were extended in front of him. _

_Naruto worked quite hard at keeping his jaw closed. _

_Content in her stretching, Sakura began rolling her head counterclockwise, slowly, while softly massaging her shoulders. The lighting inside the noodle shop illuminated her hair enchantingly, and Naruto momentarily forgot that staring so intently could be misinterpreted as lecherous. _

_Moving from her shoulders to the back of her neck, Sakura began massaging with just the middle and ring fingers of her right hand. Her left arm was wrapped around her body curiously, most likely stretching the shoulder blades in a less-commonly known technique. _

_It was stretching Naruto's self-control too. He had forgotten every time he was hurt for making an obvious pass at her, he forgot all the examples his sensei had inadvertantly set for him every time the sannin's perversion was discovered while peeping. All he could do was keep staring. _

_He shivered; Sakura's arm had forced her older, better developed chest into a very enticing position in front of Naruto. He was wrong. She had changed, after all. _

_Time? Surroundings? What are all these abstract ideas? The only thing that existed in Naruto's world right then was that she was slowly brushing one knee against the other leg and oh-my-god that was a lot of skin. Ankle to thigh, which was attractively bandaged, before the white cloth sneaked upwards into her dress. She had crossed one leg over her other, before slowly retracting her limbs, one knee perfectly thrown over her other leg. _

_She had interlocked her fingers, and rested one elbow on her knee, the other one on the table. Gently resting her chin on her fingers, she leaned in towards Naruto, and he couldn't help getting another glimpse of her chest, in a different angle. _

_Emeralds mesmerized him. Her eyes stared intently into his own, and for the first time ever, Naruto couldn't hold his gaze against someone, especially this someone. He stared away, embarrassed. For some reason, he felt like staring back into her eyes was wrong. It was too beautiful. It was… forbidden, somehow. _

_In the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard, Naruto could hear his own name being called. "Naruto…" _

_No -kun. He was still just Naruto. He evidently hadn't changed in her opinion. _

_"Naruto…" She started, her voice low, throaty, and perfect, so unlike the way she sounded years ago. So unlike the higher-pitched chirping that was supposed to be 'cute' in front of a certain Uchiha, this voice was softer, developed, mature. "You've been gone for three years. All your friends are just dying to know what you've been up to. Tell me a bit of what you were doing, hmm?" _

_Naruto was stuck. Her eyes, her voice, her body, they all entranced her in ways that he could not understand. For some reason, his thoughts unwillingly traced to Sasuke. Had she ever spoken to him like this? Ever looked at him like this, ever had this effect on him? _

_No, of course not. Naruto felt he could answer this question for anyone in the world. The woman sitting in front of him was not the same as she was three years ago. This couldn't be the same woman that pleaded with the Uchiha to stay, three years ago. Naruto couldn't imagine anyone leaving this Sakura if she asked them to stay. _

_Barely able to break himself out of his trance, Naruto started retelling of some of the adventures he and Jiraiya went on. "Well, Ero-sennin decided winter was a good time to visit snow-country..." _

Naruto, focused on occupying Sakura's attention, barely heard the sound of familiar yelling.

"…nade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune gasped frantically, poking her head into Ichiraku momentarily, moving on, and doubling back once she realized the elusive Hokage was calmly eating in the stall.

"Tsunade-sama, Akatsuki…..sighted…..north-eastern caves…..hour ago… _that place_." Shizune panted, momentarily winded from running to every restaurant and food stall the Hokage was known to visit…in no particular order.

Tsunade, wearing a frown, chewed on the ends of her chopsticks, deep in thought. After a minute, she poked Sakura in the arm and handed her two slips of paper.

"Gather your team and stick these on Kakashi. Then pack your equipment and get to the tower. You'll be gone for less than two days, so pack light. Naruto, Jiraiya, come with me."

----------------------------------------

A/N: Gah, I keep getting these errors while uploading the chapter, so eventually I had to export and type up the chapter there. What a hassle. Anyone know of a good way to fix this problem?

In other news, my story is pretty much planned. All the big arcs until NaruSakudom have been outlined (at least in my opinion, they're outlines. They look kind of like a lunatic's mad scribbling while trying to put out the fire he accidentally set onto himself.). Unfortunately for me, the true NaruSaku arc that comes after they get together is not planned, nor do I have an inkling of where to begin. Oh, the woes of planning ahead.

In _other_ other news, I've came to a decision on those triangle omakes I promised. If I'm kinda satisfied with my reviews, then yeah, I'll write a couple. But I've got a very special surprise planned, if you guys make me really content with a big three digit number in my reviews section. That's all WAAAY in the future, of course.

Still more other news. As you've obviously noticed, no Gaara retrieval arc. I'm dropping the Gaara arc like a bad habit.

Chapter finished and posted on: March 27, 2006


End file.
